Chapter 280: Sorry, Not a Victim
“By the way, why were you all in that Dungeon…?”
With a tone laced with tension, Asuka mustered the courage to ask. I had initially thought we were witnessing the first rescue of someone missing in Japan, but now it seemed that possibility was slipping away.
“Um, well…”
I felt a bit awkward but decided to speak honestly. With Ivan and Phonia, who had animal ears, present, they would have no choice but to believe me when they saw magic being used right before their eyes.
“……Are you serious?”
After a lengthy discussion, it seemed Asuka was finally convinced. However, I had no intention of explaining everything about the people in this facility, so she would have to figure that out on her own. I hadn’t mentioned anything about searching for Kaede-san, who had gone missing, either. She might ask about the others who had disappeared as well.
“Um, by the way, what exactly is this unit?”
I tried to shift the conversation to something else, noticing Asuka slumped over the desk with a dazed expression. They had helped us, but I still had no clear idea of what this organization was.
“Haha… Now that you mention it, I haven’t properly introduced myself yet.”
Asuka straightened her back slightly, turning to face us again.
“I’m Asuka Kuroba, a member of the Seventh Squad of the Japanese Army Dungeon Unit. Nice to meet you.”
“Japanese Army…?”
“Dungeon Unit?”
Both Rio and I tilted our heads in confusion. What did “Japanese Army” even mean? I thought Japan didn’t have a military, but perhaps this version of Japan was different.
“Could it be that you’ve conducted retaliatory operations several times…?”
Rio seemed to have realized something and voiced her thoughts. I vaguely recalled hearing something like that from Mr. Jinpei.
“Ah, that’s right. We’ve managed to give them a run for their money a few times. But even then, not a single missing person was ever found…”
Even in Japan, it seemed they wouldn’t remain silent in the face of invasion. Remembering the ruins I had just seen, it was easy to imagine that fierce battles had taken place in Japan. I couldn’t tell if a military had been formed afterward or if it had always existed.
Just then, my smartphone buzzed with a ringtone and vibration from my pocket. Everyone except Rio and me reacted dramatically, and Ivan seemed so startled that he fell off his chair.
Looking at the screen, I saw it was Mr. Jinpei calling. Since our conversation had reached a natural pause, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to answer.
“Hello?”
“Ah, is that you, Shuu-kun? It’s me, Jinpei.”
“Is something the matter?”
“Sorry about this. I got a GPS signal, and I couldn’t wait to contact you.”
“Oh, I see… Unfortunately, I don’t have any reports to give yet. This world doesn’t even have the internet, let alone a phone system.”
The speed of information transfer here was likely incomparable to Japan. We had distributed smartphones back home, but they hadn’t reached every organization’s leader, let alone every town. Still, I understood his impatience to hear about the lead we had finally found. I wondered if our smartphones were being monitored… but that was fine. Unlike ordinary people, we couldn’t be contacted at any time.
“I see…”
I could hear the disappointment in his voice, but there was nothing we could do about it.
“Hmm… Could you tell me a bit more about what’s going on, including that?”
“Sure, that’s fine. Should I head to the company building?”
“Ah, sorry about this. How about we have dinner together again?”
As soon as Mr. Jinpei’s voice mentioned dinner, Phonia’s ears perked up, and she muttered, “Food…” with a blissful expression.
However, we had one extra person this time. Plus, she wouldn’t understand the language.
“We have one more person with us now. Is that alright?”
“Haha, it’s fine. As long as it’s someone you’re bringing, I don’t mind how many more come.”
I felt a bit embarrassed at Mr. Jinpei’s generosity. He was fundamentally different from the unsavory types I had dealt with before.
“Thank you. We’ll be on our way then.”
“Alright, I’ll be waiting.”
Feeling a bit out of place here, I decided it was a good time to leave. After hanging up and putting my phone away, I noticed Asuka staring at me with a dazed expression.
“I heard you came from Japan, but I didn’t know you had acquaintances here too.”
“Well, there are a few.”
I hadn’t mentioned Kaede-san’s family, but they were indeed here—Jushiro-san and Mr. Jinpei. I had also become familiar with the driver who had picked us up a few times, but I realized I hadn’t even asked for his name…
“Well then, we should get going.”
“Ah, okay…”
Asuka, who had been watching us absentmindedly, suddenly snapped back to reality and stood up.
“If you’re heading somewhere, I can give you a ride.”
“Is that alright?”
If she was offering, that would be a big help. I might be able to find my way with the map app on my smartphone, but I wasn’t very familiar with the geography here. The last time we had gone to gather supplies, we had been driven around to various warehouse stores and malls.
“Yeah, it’s fine… But I’m not sure how to explain this to them…”
I didn’t catch the latter part of her sentence, but I was grateful for the offer. We decided to accept her help without hesitation.